The Mourning of Muharram is an important period
of mourning in the Shi'a branch of Islam, taking place in Muharram which is the first month of the Islamic
calendar. It is also called the Remembrance of
Muharram (Arabic: ذكرى محرم or مناسبة محرم‎). Many of the events
associated with the remembrance take place in congregation halls
known as Hussainia.

The event marks the anniversary of the Battle of
Karbala when Imam Hussain ibn Ali,
The grandson of Muhammad
the last prophet of Islam, and a
Shia
Imam, was killed by the forces of the second UmayadcaliphYazid
I. The event is marked by arranging 'majalis' (gatherings) to
review Islamic teachings and to commemorate Imam Hussain's
sacrifice. The mourning reaches its climax on the tenth day, known
as Ashura, on which the forces
of Yazid killed the 72 individuals who fought, including Imam
Hussain and his family and supporters. The women and children left
living were made prisoners and transported to Yazid's court in Damascus.

Etymology

The words Azadari and Majalis-e Aza has been
exclusively used in connection with the remembrance ceremonies for
the martyrdom of Imam Hussain. Majalis-e Aza, also known as Aza-e
Husayn, includes mourning congregations, lamentations, matam and
all such actions which express the emotions of grief and above all,
repulsion against what Yazid
stood for.

The term majalis has both a grammatical meaning and a meaning
which relates to Aza-e-Husayn. In its technical sense, a majalis is
a meeting, a session or a gathering.

Background

Shi'a Muslims in Bahrain
strike their chests during the Remembrance of Muharram.

The Azadari of Muharram was started by the family of Muhammad (the Ahl-ul-Bayt) after the death of Muhammad's
grandson Husayn ibn Ali at the Battle of Karbala in 680 AD.
Following the battle of Karbala, Muhammad's granddaughter Zaynab binte Ali and sister of Husayn,
began mourning for the fallen and making speeches against Husayn
ibn Ali's opponents: Ibn Ziyad and Yazid I. News of Husayn ibn
Ali's death was also spread by Imam Zain-ul-Abideen,
who succeeded Husayn as the Shia Imam, via sermons and speeches
throughout Iraq, Syria and
Hejaz.

Zainab and Zainu l-Abi Din informed the people that Yazid had
martyred Imam Husayn and seventy-two of his companions including
his six month old son Ali Asghar, and that their women and
children were taken as prisoners to Syria. When word of mourning reached Yazid he
decided to release the captive women and children from the prison
in Damascus, out of fear of public revolt against his rule. He sent
for Zainu l-Abi Din, informed him of the impending release and
asked if he wished for anything further. Zain said he would consult
with Zainab. She asked Yazid to provide a place where the people
could mourn for Imam Husayn and others of Muhammad's household. A
house was provided, and here Zaynab binte Ali held the first
Majlis-e Aza of Husayn and started the Mourning of Muharram.

The mourning and commemoration for Husayn ibn Ali originated in
Arab Iraq, as this is where Husayn
was martyred. However, they were held in Iran as early as the twelfth century, when both
Sunnis and Shias participated in them. In the Safavid period, the annual
mourning ceremonies for Imam Hosayn, combined with the ritual
cursing of his enemies, acquired the status of a national
institution. Expressions of grief such as sine-zani (beating the
chest), zangir-zani (beating oneself with chains), and tage-zani or
qama-zani (hitting oneself with swords or knives) emerged as common
features of the proliferating mourning-processions (dasta-gardani).
Mourning for the martyred Imam also took place in assemblies held
in buildings erected especially for the purpose, known either as Hussainia or takia, as well
as in mosques and private houses. At these assemblies, called
either rawze-khani (the recitation of Rawzat al-Shuhada by Hosayn
Waeze Kashefi (d. 910/1504-05)) or marsia-khani (the recitation of
elegies), professional reciters and preachers would recount the
deeds of the martyrs and curse their enemies, arousing the emotions
of the mourners who responded by singing dirges at appropriate
intervals in the narrative. Theatrical representations of the
tragedy at Karbala (ta'zia)—possibly the most remarkable feature of
the entire corpus of Muharram ritual—also made their appearance in
the Safavid period.[1]

Commemoration of the tragedy at Karbala reached its apogee in
the mid-nineteenth century. By then it had spread across a vast
area, extending from the Middle East and the Caucasus eastwards to India, Indonesia, and Thailand, and it had even been established in
Trinidad by Indian Muslim migrants. In Iran, the memory of Karbala
came to permeate social and cultural life, with mourning assemblies
and dramatic performances (not all shias agree with the re-enacting
of the tragedy of Karbala however) being organized throughout the
year, not only in Muharram. The occasion might be furnished by the
death of a revered person or the need to fulfill a vow. Gatherings
known as sofra (lit. tablecloth), in which the preparation and
serving of food played a focal role, were exclusively feminine: the
preachers as well as the mourners were all women, and the lives and
tribulations of women such as Fatimah and Zaynab were the principal topic of
commemoration. Gatherings of this type appear to have originated in
the late nineteenth century.[1]

Azadari Movement in
Lucknow

Lucknow is known as a
seat of Shi'ism and the epitome of Shia culture in India. Muharram
which is observed in Lucknow is famous worldwide. The processions
of Muharram in Lucknow have a special significance. They were
started during the reign of the Awadh Nawabs. The Majalises,
processions and other rituals that are observed by the Shia
community to commemorate the sacrifice of Husain are known as
Azadari.

The processions like Shahi Zarih,
Jaloos-e-Mehndi, Alam-e-Ashura and that of
Chup Tazia have special significance for Shia community,
which are taken out with great religious zeal and fervour. These
processions which started during the reign of the Awadh Nawabs
continued till the year 1977.

Processions Banned The first problem regarding Azadari started
in the year 1906. Communal riots took place in the years 1968,
1969, 1974 and 1977. The Government of Uttar Pradesh
banned the Azadari processions in the year 1977. The Shia community
from time to time has been constantly protesting against the ban
imposed on Azadari. Many memoranda were sent to the Government
regarding the ban but to no avail. The system of courting arrest
was also started later by the late Maulana Syed Kalbe Abid in which
thousands of Shias courted arrest on the 10th of Muharram every
year, at the Imambara Asifi in the protest of this ban.

Self Immolation On the 10th of April 1997 under the
banner of Karvane Furat the Shias sat on a hunger strike
to press their demands and attract the attention of the Government
but the effort was in vain. Having been irked by the attitude of
the Government and seeing that no other option was left for the
community, three Shia youth committed self immolation on
13th of April 1997 at Dargah Hazrat Abbas (A.S.), Mohd.
Abbas (24 years), Yusuf (38 years) committed self- immolation. They
breathed their last on 16th April 1997 in Safdarjung
Hospital, New Delhi. On April 16th another Shia youth,
Ishrat Altaf, committed self immolation and died.

Noted Shia religious scholar of India Kalbe Sadiq called on the
community to observe a peace march on the 18th of April,
1997. A march was scheduled from Imambara Asifi(Bara Imambara) to
Imambara Husainabad(Chhota Imambara) in which more than two hundred
thousand Shias along with other Ulema participated. Imam Bukhari of
Shahi Jami Masjid in Delhi showed his interest in negotiating the
vexed Azadari issue and was expected to arrive in Lucknow on the
31st May 1997. On 3rd June he was arrested on
the outskirts of the city. Along with him noted Shia Ulema, the
Imam-e-Juma of Masjid Asafi, Maulana Syed Kalbe Jawad and Sunni
Ulama late Maulana Qamar Minai were arrested for organising a
meeting and defying Section 144 I.P.C.

On hearing of their leader’s arrest, the Shias stormed the
Vidhan Sabha (the provincial assembly of Uttar Pradesh state) and
performed Matam. The Government Uttar Pradesh seeing the situation
going out of hand was forced to release the leaders without further
delay.

Indian Shiite Muslims take out a Muharram procession in Lucknow,
India, Jan, 2007. Muharram is a month of mourning when Shiite
Muslims recall the seventh-century death of Imam Hussain, grandson
of Muhammad.

Police mercilessly beat Shias including women and children on
8th June 1997 in Muftiganj in the Alam procession. Upon
knowing of this incident Maulana Kalbe Jawad called an emergency
meeting of about 115 Shia Anjumans(associations) of the city. At
the meeting it was unanimously decided that if the government did
not lift the ban on Azadari by 24th June 1997
(18th Safar) the Shias would defy the ban and take out
the Alam procession on the 26th of June 1997. The
Administration and the government did nothing they imposed a curfew
in the city on the night of 26th June 1997. The Chief
Minister Ms. Mayawati issued a strict warning to the Shia community
that any attempt to take out Alam procession would force the
government to deal strongly with them.

The police sealed all the Shia dominated localities but
ultimately Shia’s defied the curfew. The Government to save itself
from an embarrassment transferred the then District Magistrate of
Lucknow and issued the order for the arrest of Maulana Syed Kalbe
Jawad under National Security Act (NSA). The Administration on the
28th of June 1997 at 4:00 a.m. arrested Maulana Syed
Kalbe Jawad. He was sent to Lalitpur Jail while his family was
incarcerated with the prisoners of TADA. News spread like wildfire
in the city and the people again break the curfew. The police
mercilessly beat them up. Shia women stormed District Magistrate
residence and protested there. Shia youth performed matam at the
Vidhan Sabha. People from other parts of the country also started
lending their support to the Azadari Movement. There were also
various protests and agitations reported from the different parts
of the country against the arrest of Maulana Syed Kalbe Jawad.
Indian Shias residing in New York, Syria, Pakistan, Iran and other
countries also protested against the Maulana Syed Kalbe Jawad’s
arrest.The situation went out of control and the Government was
left with no other option but to release Maulana Syed Kalbe Jawad.
Finally he was released on the 8th of July, 1997.

Ban Lifted The Government assured the Shias that the Azadari
procession problem would be looked into and solved in three months
time and asked for all agitations and protest to be postponed till
then.The Shias did so. Upon the expiry of the period of 3 months
the matter was not solved and Maulana Syed Kalbe Jawad decided
again to defy the ban on Azadari on 27th of September.
The Administration, finally held rounds of talks between Shias and
Sunnis. The Shias were successful in taking out the first Azadari
procession in January 1998 (21st of Ramzan) with the
permission of the Government. Today the Shias have been given nine
processions out of nine hundred that are registered in the festival
register of the Shias.

Types of
Mourning

How the event is mourned differs between different branches of
Shia and different ethnic groups. The event is also observed by
many Sunnis, but to
a lesser extent, and as a time of remembrance, rather than
mourning.

In the Twelver three
traditional schools (Usooli, Akhbari, and Shaykhi), mourners, both male and female,
congregate together (in separate sections) for sorrowful, poetic
recitations performed in memory of the death of Husayn, lamenting
and grieving to the tune of beating drums and chants of "Ya
Husayn." Passion plays are also performed, reenacting the Battle of
Karbala and the suffering and death of Husayn at the hands of
Yazid. They offer
condolences to Imam-e-Zamana also known as Imam al-Mahdi whom they believe will avenge the
blood of Husayn and bring justice to the world.

TwelverAlevis also mourn, and they keep themselves from
eating and drinking ("fasting") the first 10–12 days of Muharram.
In this period, the Alevis wear
black clothes, do not shave themselves and avoid any type of
entertainment and pleasure. Originally, it is also forbidden to
bath and change clothes during this period, but today most Alevis do not follow this rule.
This is called "Muharrem Matemi", "Yas-i Muharrem" or "Muharrem
orucu". But because it is also called "fasting", many people
falsely think that Alevis celebrate the Muharram. The definition of
the "fast" in this connection is different from the normal type of
"fasting".

The only Ismaili group which mourns are the Mustaali, who mourn similarly
to the majority of Twelvers.

Tabuiks (funeral biers) being
lowered into the sea at a Muharram procession in West Sumatra,
Indonesia

For the duration of the remembrance, it is customary for mosques
to provide free meals (nazar) on certain nights of the
month to all people. These meals are viewed as being special and
holy, as they have been consecrated in the name of Imam Husayn, and
thus partaking of them is considered an act of communion with Allah, Imam Husayn, and
humanity.

Ziarat
Imam Husayn Shrine

Many Shia also tend to embark on a pilgrimage to the Imam Husayn
Shrine in Karbala itself, as it is one of the holiest places
for Shias
outside of Mecca and Medina. Up to one million
pilgrims a year visit the city to observe the anniversary of Husayn
ibn Ali's death. [1] The shrine is
located opposite that of Abbas ibn Ali.

Matam

Zanjir(Chain) used for 'Zanjir matam'

Many of the male and female participants congregate together in
public for ceremonial chest beating (matam) as a display
of their devotion to Imam Husayn and in remembrance of his
suffering. In some Shi'a societies, such as those in Bahrain,
Pakistan, India, Afghanistan, Lebanon and Iraq, some male
participants incorporate knives or razors swung upon chains into
their matam.[2].

Taziya

One form of mourning is the theatrical re-enactment of the
Battle of Karbala. In Iran this is called taziya or
taziyeh. Theatrical groups that specialize in taziya are
called taziya groups.[3] Taziyas
were popular through the Qajar dynasty up into the early twentieth
century, but the reinactments slowly declined until they were
mostly abandoned in the large cities by the early 1940s.
Nonetheless, taziyas continued to exist in Iran on a smaller scale
especially in more rural and traditional areas. Reza Shah, the first of the
Pahlavi
dynasty, had outlawed taziyas. Despite some attempts at since
1979, Muharram processions and various forms of the rawza
khani are still more common.[4]

In South Asia where dramatic commemmorations are less
significant, ta'zīya came to refer as specifically to the
miniature mausoleums used in processions held in Muharram. It all
started from the fact that the great distance of India from Karbala
prevented Indian Shi'is wish to buried near tomb of Imam Husayn or
frequent pilgrimages(ziyarat) to tomb. This is the reason why
Indian Shi'is established local karbalas on the subcontinent by
bringing soil from Karbala and sprinkling it on lots designated as
future cemetries. Once the karbalas were established on the
subcontinent, next step was to bring Husayn's tomb-shrine to India.
This was established by building replicas of Husayn's mausolem
called ta'zīya to be carried in Muharram processions.
Thosands of ta'zīyas in various shapes and sizes are
fashioned every year for months of mourning of Muharram and Safar;
and are carried in processions and may be buried at the end of
Ashoura day or Arbain day.[5]

Shia
Hadiths

A banner (alam) being carried in a procession during the
Remembrance of Muharram in Bahrain.

Surely, there exists in the hearts of the Mu' mineen, with
respect to the martyrdom of Husayn, a heat that never subsides.[6]

Muhammad said:

O Fatimah! Every eye shall be weeping on the
Day of Judgment except the eye which has shed tears over the
tragedy of Husayn for surely, that eye shall be laughing and shall
be given the glad tidings of the bounties and comforts of Paradise.
[7]

(Once when he happened to pass by Karbala), Isa (Jesus) sat down and began to weep.
His disciples who were observing him, followed suit and began
weeping too, but not comprehending the reason for this behaviour,
they asked him: "O' Spirit of God! What is it that makes you weep?"
Isa (Jesus) said: "Do you know what land this is?" The disciples
replied: "No." He then said: "This is the land on which the son of
the Prophet Ahmad shall be killed.[9]

REASON FOR
MOURNING

Zaynab binte Ali Sister of Imam Hussain
after Karbala vowed that as long as the people do not recognise the
actual cause of Karbala, the followers of Hussain will continue to
protest on the streets and in the dwellings as to what happened in
Karbala. As per Sunni belief all the battles fought between the
family of Muhammad and the
Umayyads
were political i.e. Battle of Siffin and The Battle of Karbala. Though besides Sunnis several
Shias do not
know that it's a protest and invitation to people to come and
listen to mourners as to what happened in Karbala.
It is believed by many that Hussain's journey to Karbala was to claim
his Imamat over the people of Kufa
who had written letters inviting him to Kufa. Where as per Shia's
belief Husain knew he was to be killed there. He under took this
journey to deny his approval or Bait to Yazid becoming Caliph and not
to become one himself.